The Prefect Question & Headship

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 70284

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" <kcawte at b...> wrote:
> 
>  People keep on (on every mailing list I'm on) asking about this.
> They say that because Remus was a prefect in the fifth year that 
> James wasn't a prefect *ever*. Do we know that the school doesn't 
> appoint *more* prefects in the sixth and/or seventh year? 

bboy_mn:

Stop and think for a moment. Ron and Hermione are in their 5th year
and are appointed Prefects. Next year they will be in their 6th year,
and they will still be Prefects; SIXTH year prefect, so there is no
point in appointing 6th year prefects, they simply move up from 5th,
and the 6th years move up into 7th year. 


> If we stick to just two per house per year that's a total of 24 plus 
> Head boy and Head girl, which seems rather low to me for the size 
> that JKR says Hogwarts is. 

There are 6 Prefects living in each housing area (we call them
Dormitories in the USA, but that word doesn't have the same meaning in
the UK). That seems sufficient to supervise the kids living there. I
will add that the kids at Hogwarts seem exceptionally will behaved,
and seem to manage quite well with limited supervision. You could
never get away with that number of prefects in an American School. I'm
sure an American school would require armed secuity guards. 


> Certainly the school I was at pretty much the entire of the 7th year
were prefects ...

I assume you mean formal prefects, but at Hogwarts where the 7th
aren't designated as formal prefects, they are still likely to keep
the younger kids under control. 7th years have their NEWTs coming up,
and it is their last chance to prove themselves academically, so they
aren't going to put up with anything that put their future at risk.
The result; they unofficially help keep the little kids in line.


> ..edited...
> 
> Plus I wouldn't be surprised if the House Heads didn't have the main
> role in choosing prefects and then Albus just rubber stamped it.
> 
> K

bboy_mn concludes:

I think Prefects are like assistant teachers; assistance in that they
help the teacher run the school and maintain order. There 'assistance'
is unrelated to actual teaching.

Prefects are chosen from students who are capable, trustworthy, and
responsible, since, as we have see, Prefects are often asked to watch
over younger students, and to assist the adminstration in time of
trouble. So the heads of house choose student they think will be
reliable and responsible, and who can be counted on to maintain order
in the house living environment. There are 6 of these per house.

Head Boy and Head Girl, I like to think of as best boy and best girl.
They are the best two students in the school and as such are chosen
for differnent reasons and different purposes than prefect. 

Perfect are chosen for their level of ability to help the
adminstration maintain order. Head Boy and Girl are chosen for a
combination of mostly academic excellence and to a lesser but still
significant degree quality of character. It's like 'summa cum laude';
the best students in the school, and it's one boy and one girl from
the entire school. 

Originally, I thought Head Boy and Head Girl were simply an extension
of the Prefect system, but upon reflection, I think the two are
completely separate. Prefect reward responsibility, and Headship
rewards excellence. Of course, it's quite common for the two to
overlap. Prefect will most frequently gain Headship, but that is a
matter of circumstances, not a requirement.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn